A Look Ahead

2014 Chair's Message

Feb. 27, 2014

Tim Reed

Written by

Tim Reed

Margin Holdings

It is an honor for me to serve as Chairman of your Greenville Chamber this year. As I became more involved in the Chamber this past year serving as Chair-elect, I have been amazed at all our Chamber does for the business community.

Working with the Greenville Chamber Board of Advisors, the Chamber Board of Directors, and the Chamber staff affirms what an incredible organization we are fortunate to have. Under the excellent leadership of Luanne Runge, 2013 has been an exciting year with many accomplishments towards the strategic goals set forth under the leadership of Sam Konduros in 2011 and Mike Riordan in 2012. The many parts of the puzzle that make the Chamber operate confirm that we have the right pieces in place in all aspects of volunteers and staff to cultivate and sustain a premier business community.

In 2014 we will complete the third year of the strategic goals for the Chamber while establishing the roadmap for the next 5 to 10 years with an extensive study conducted by Atlanta-based Market Street Services, involving a variety of community leaders and input from hundreds of survey participants. Results of that study will be forthcoming in the spring and will set the roadmap for not only our business community but also the region as a whole. As detailed in the Scope of Work, this five-month study will gather input from a variety of sources including interviews with community leaders, existing economic data sets including the 2013 Regional Economic Scorecard, and an objective look at Greenville’s talent pipeline. Those inputs combined with guidance from the project Steering Committee will shape the final recommendations for the Chamber going forward. Just as Accelerate laid out a five-year plan to improve business conditions, grow high-impact companies and develop and attract human capital, we believe this study will serve as the basis for new strategic objectives beginning in 2015.

It is with great pleasure that I have been afforded the opportunity to be a part of shaping the future of Greenville while attending to current needs of our investors.

We have much to be thankful for and with that comes responsibility. We live in an incredibly blessed community and we need to share the success with all of our members and citizens to inspire all to prosper.

I look forward to a full plate this coming year and for me, it’s time to get to work.